


Nineveh

by LuckyLikesLemons



Category: Winner (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Archaeology, Classics, Coming of Age, Dark, Growing Up, Literature, M/M, Obsession, Possessive Behavior, Stalking, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:21:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25542013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyLikesLemons/pseuds/LuckyLikesLemons
Summary: Jinu's world is cold and depressing. Abandoned by his father in death, estranged from his mother in life, perpetually drowning in the thoughts inside his head. Everyday is a struggle, fighting with unnamed urges that seethe and simmer underneath his skin.So he builds. He creates a world of his own, one filled with insects and lush potted plants and fairytale characters, a world of white and whimsy, a world where Jinu is Someone, a person of importance, the hero, the bard and the philosopher. For a while, it works. Until it doesn't.Life is bitter and cold, but at least it's routine. Beauty on the other hand, is unexpected. It is cruel and hard-edged, enticing to the eye but poison to the heart.Seungyoon is Beauty. Beauty is Seungyoon.Jinu has never wanted anything the way he wants him.[Based on Fic Fest Prompt 25]
Relationships: Kang Seungyoon/Kim Jinwoo, Kang Seungyoon/Song Minho | Mino
Comments: 25
Kudos: 21
Collections: WINNER Spring/Summer Fic Fest 2020





	Nineveh

**Author's Note:**

> WINNER Fic Fest Prompt 25:
> 
> 'Someone has been sending Yoon a bouquet of daisies whenever he has a short fling or relationship. He thought the very first bouquet was a thank you gift from an ex partner. But the sender has always been Jinu, his stalker, who still believes in Yoon's innocence and purity. Until his obsession overwhelms him.'
> 
> Took some liberties with the plot, the interpretation is my own. This is a chaptered work, the progress will be slow, but I hope it will be a meaningful journey. 
> 
> Whoever submitted this one, I hope you enjoy it. I'm sorry if you were expecting a one shot for this prompt, but the work became a monster and spiralled out of control, so I've decided to give it the justice it deserves.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It rains, it rains, it rains.
> 
> Jinwoo tries to ignore his parents' broken relationship.

It was cold and wet the day his mother asked him to dress up for a party; cold and wet and miserable, the sky a dark grey, thick with fierce clouds and the promise of storms. Hardly the kind of weather for a picnic, let alone a party.

It had rained steadily throughout the night and the garden was full of shallow puddles, teeming with all kinds of interesting life. Strange little insects skimming across water with thin, hairy legs. Fat slugs leaving glistening trails over bricks. Snails with pretty, curling shells slowly moving across a rotting fence post. An emerald green frog perching quietly on a fallen leaf. Large, lumpy toads with warts and wrinkled skin, lazily lolling their tongues for flies.

Jinwoo had been excited to explore the garden after rain, tidying up all his toys and folding his bed covers as soon as he woke up without any prompting from his mother. He'd brushed his teeth and changed into his favourite shirt (the one with the smiling octopus) and a pair of ripped shorts so there wouldn't be any complaints about mud stains.

Breakfast was a rushed affair of burnt toast that he'd crammed into his mouth without chewing. Father looked at him funny when he didn't make any motion to lick the spoon in the jam jar like he usually did.

'What's the hurry?' he asked as he buttered a scone.

'I'm gonna _ecks-plorre_.' Jinwoo declared with a serious expression, taking care to enunciate the syllables correctly. 'Just like a real _ecks-plorrer_.'

'A real explorer?'

Jinwoo nodded as he tried to swallow down his dry toast. It tasted terrible, like sawdust in his mouth, but mother would be angry if he didn't eat anything.

Father pushed a mug of orange juice towards him and smiled. 'Drink that. Take your time. The garden isn't going to go anywhere, you know.'

Jinwoo eyed the mug reluctantly and took a small sip. He had to go out as soon as possible. What if the snails went away?

His dad eyed him thoughtfully over the edge of his newspaper.

'Do you know what a real explorer needs? Proper exploring tools.'

And that's how Jinwoo found himself in the garden a little later, dressed to the nines in a shiny yellow raincoat and brand new wellington boots. A pair of binoculars rested around his neck, and a tiny magnifying glass peeked out of his front pocket. He held a large notepad with red tartan covers (an observation journal, father called it) with a stub of pencil attached to a length of string dangling from his wrist.

Three long and glorious hours passed as he crawled on his knees, climbed low branches and scrabbled under pebbles in search of creepy crawlies and little treasures. Life couldn't be better.

His wild and wonderful time in paradise was interrupted when his mother came out to find him, dressed rather strangely for the weather in a thin, blue frock and sunhat.

'Jinwoo? Jinwoo? Where are you? Come inside!'

Jinwoo stared up at his mother, eyes round and wide, fingers grubby from digging tunnels in the wet soil. His shirt was plastered to his back with sweat and grime, and his boots were filled with dirty rainwater.

He didn't need to see her face to know she was upset with him. For some reason, mother took appearances seriously.

'What have you been doing? You look filthy.' The disgust was clear in her voice.

'Nothing.' Jinwoo said quietly. He dug the handle of the magnifying glass deeper inside his pocket. It was much better to deny everything than let mother know anything, a lesson he'd learnt the hard way.

'Well, whatever it is, leave it and come inside. Wash up and get dressed, we're going outside.'

Jinwoo stared at her in surprise. Going outside? Right after the rain? That was strange. Mother hated going out when it was wet and cold.

'What are you standing there for? Go and get ready!'

Jinwoo trudged upstairs, dragging his feet as slow as he could. Going outside with mother didn't mean long walks or woodland trails. It meant a brunch or a tea party or a soiree of some sort, formal suit and tie occasions in stuffy, overheated rooms. They were probably his least favourite thing in the world.

As dull as ditch water and dreadfully boring, outings with mother were filled with old, uptight people dressed in fancy clothes and expensive hats, eating platters of things like cod roe and poached quail, making small talk over cups of tea and glasses of brandy amidst clouds of cigarette smoke.

He could hear father talking to mother in the kitchen.

'Do you have to go out today?'

'You know I've been planning this for weeks, a little rain isn't going to stop me!'

'I understand that you want to go and meet your friends, but do you have to take Jinwoo with you?'

'Why shouldn't I take him? He's my son!'

'He doesn't like it very much. I don't think it's his sort of scene. I know he would much rather prefer to stay at home and explore the garden.'

'Right, because you know him so well! Of course, Jinwoo would like to stay at home with daddy dearest. Why? Because mummy is a monstrous hag, an evil witch who keeps bad company and always does the wrong thing! Is that what you've been telling him?'

'You know I haven't told him anything like that.'

'You always turn him against me.'

'That isn't true.'

'You hate me, don't you?'

'Of course I don't. Must you always make an argument out of every conversation?'

'You're always reproaching me. Acting as though every damn thing is my fault. Do you know how much I've sacrificed to be here with you? I left my entire life behind once we got married, and all for what? An old, broken down house in the middle of nowhere with no friends or servants, cooking and cleaning and folding clothes while all the old ladies in church sneer at me behind my back!'

Silence.

Jinwoo crept closer to the kitchen door and brought his ear to the keyhole.

'I never asked you to leave your life behind to follow me here. You did that, on your own.'

Father's voice was quiet, but Jinwoo could hear the hurt in his words.

'It doesn't matter. I just want to go out today to meet friends I haven't seen in a while. I want to take Jinwoo with me. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't interfere.'

Mother's tone was icy and cold, which meant the conversation was over and she wouldn't accept any kind of rebuttal.

Father sighed and moved towards the corridor. Jinwoo sensed his approaching footsteps and darted up the stairs to the bathroom, upending a basin of water in his haste to clean himself up.

He was stripping off his wet socks when his father's shadow appeared in the doorway. He stood there for a moment, slumped against the frame.

'Did you hear us back there? In the kitchen?'

Jinwoo didn't say anything and dried his hands. He collected his new clothes from the dresser and changed into them methodically. At long last, he answered.

'Mother doesn't like people who eavesdrop.'

Jinwoo stared at his father's reflection in the mirror as he brushed his unruly hair.

'Your mother doesn't like a lot of things.' his father said evenly.

Jinwoo paused before powdering his nose.

'Mother doesn't like a lot of things,' he said, 'but she does like parties. And she likes her old friends. She likes drinking bubbles from glasses and blowing clouds and eating fish eggs on salt crackers.'

Father sighed.

'I tried, you know. But she wants you there with her.'

'It's alright.' he said, even though it wasn't. 'I'll sneak you a pastry from the table.'

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going through a difficult time at the moment with work and classes, so progress might be a bit erratic. Please keep the support coming!
> 
> Your encouragement and cheer means more than you might think, so please, go ahead and comment.


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